The End of Death

Once upon a time, a friend passed away, and there was some talk that I may be asked to preach at the funeral. I had an idea of what I would like to have said, and jotted it down in a word document. The family asked someone else to preach the funeral so I never really progressed anymore on the line of thought I had. I came across the notes the other day, and rather letting it continue to be lazy, lounging around my hard-drive, I dressed it up, whipped it into shape, and put it to work.

Death is separation. Man is both body and soul, and when a person dies, their soul and body separate. This is not a most natural part of human life. Death is the result of a curse and in the scriptures, is painted for what it truly is – the never satisfied enemy of mankind. As fast and as far as you may run, death is coming. It is not natural for humanity to be separate from the body. In the beginning God created the Heavens and the Earth in a state of perfection. There was neither sickness nor death. God created Adam and told him he could have everything in the world – it was all his, he just couldn’t eat of the tree of the knowledge of good and evil. In rebellion, Adam defied God’s command and ate – and that moment he died spiritually. The earth, was cursed. Sin had entered, and with sin – death. That is why there is sickness. That is why there is death. Death entered because of sin. Every human being since has been born into a sin cursed world. Humanity was ruined. As God pronounced the curse, He also promised a cure. There would come a hero who would crush the head of that serpent the devil, and though it would bruised his heel, the death blow would crush the serpents head.

This hero is Jesus Christ. As foretold by the prophets, this Christ, born of a virgin, the Son of David in the line of the King was born into this world without the curse of sin. The Eternal Son of God, the creator of the universe, entered into His own creation – the Word made Flesh.  He came voluntarily with a purpose - to save those chosen by the Father and given to him to redeem and rescue from the judgment and curse of sin, for the glory of the Father. He came as a substitute and a sacrifice for the sins of His people. He, who had no sin, was made sin for us on the cross. The just, for the unjust was dying for the sins of God’s people. The Father laid all the sin, of all the elect, upon the Lord Jesus, punishing for their sins as a substitute. And when it was finished, Jesus died. Death. That cruel, wicked enemy laid hold upon the Lord Jesus Christ as he laid down his life. But, three days and three nights later, Christ, our great champion and saviour burst free from the tomb, for it was not possible that death could keep its hands upon Him. Death could not keep him. Death could not defeat Him, and as He had the power to lay down his life, he had the power to take it up again. He burst forth as a conqueror over death and broke the sting of death and the grave and provides us the hope of resurrection and eternal life when our souls will be reunited with a glorified body.